Vivekananda, Desh ki Dharti on Modi show in New York The US State Department and other lobbies who denied Modi a visa when he was chief minister of Gujarat, says one organiser of the Madison Square Garden event, will get a clear idea of what kind of force is behind Modi in America. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff meets the people behind the event in New York and finds out whats in store for Sundays show. Enough is never enough for the Indian-American community when it comes to celebration. It is as if Diwali has arrived early with the frenzy over Prime Minister Narendra Modis community reception at New Yorks Madison Square Garden on Sunday, September 28, reaching fever pitch. Dr Bharat Barai, president, Indian American Community Foundation, which is organising the reception, walked into the MSG managements office two days ago with an offer: 20,000 people are coming to the MSG on Sunday to hear Modi. Calculate the profit you would earn by selling food and drinks to them. We will pay you your profit upfront. Allow us to distribute Indian food for free to our audience. But in the land of the market-driven economy such sentiment is alien. There are many unions in the iconic building. The unions wont permit patronising an audience coming to salute their iconic leader, who had long been denied a visa by their adopted country. So Dr Barais team contacted four food truck-owners with licences issued by the City of New York to sell street food. These trucks will park outside the venue and distribute food. Whoever has a ticket to the event will get free lunch in the land famous for no free lunches. The owners of Rajbhog and Deep Food, two well-known brands of Indian savouries, are Modi supporters want to show their support at any cost. People all over America want tickets to the event. Dr Barai has received complaints that some Indian Americans are black marketing tickets on the Internet, but the good doctor has no time to check if any such mischief is on. Dr Barais mobile phone rings non-stop with requests from Indian Americans, including many wealthy retired professionals who arrived in America in the early 1970s as he did to study medicine. People who have sent cheques for $1,000 (about Rs 60,000) to the organisers are not yet assured that they will secure entry to the event.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 17:14:42 +0000